Odisha govt to take action for violating motor vehicles Act

Bhubaneswar: In view of blatant violation by the buses plying without valid permits, the Transport & Commerce department of Odisha government directed the officials to take action against the bus operators under Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.

The department asked the RTOs to seize the buses along with collecting fine amounts by conducting raids on the buses that are carrying the passengers without rout permit or violating the MV Act.

The RTOs have been asked not to allow undisciplined drivers and buses to ply without permit at any cost.

Soon after the directive the officials targeted the buses especially the night coach buses. Bhubaneswar RTO started verification process after raiding several buses on Friday night. The officials verified the documents, licenses along with checking whether the driver had consumed liquor during driving or the buses carried passengers exceeding the seat limits in sleeper coach.

“Around 300 buses are plying daily to different parts from Bhubaneswar. But the buses having permit to ply on a particular route are found operating on other routes. Even there are so many complaints registered that the drivers of night coach buses are driving under influence of alcohol. It came to our notice that the buses are carrying more than one person on a sleeper seat. The passengers are also found sitting in the cabin during the night. The department has asked the passengers to make a complaint with the RTO against the buses for openly violating the rules,” said a senior official in the Transport department.

As per the rules, the buses should carry the passengers as per the number of the seats. There were allegations that the buses carry two-three passengers per seat. A number of passengers travelling to different destinations including Balasore, Bhadrak, Angul, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Baripada, Jajpur and Berhampur from Bhubaneswar are found sitting on the sleeper coach. Even the buses lack systems like primary treatment and deployment of fire suppression system, he added.